It took a long while for Leon to fall asleep; he spent most of his time watching Ella sleep. When he woke up, she wasn't there anymore. He shot up out of bed, wondering if she left early again.

He left her bedroom and heard the sound of pans being moved around. He made his way over to the kitchen and leaned on the doorway as he watched Ella making pancakes.

With a stake of pancakes, she turned around to put it on the table, and jumped. She hadn't expected to see Leon there and nearly dropped the plate.

"Oops." He reached out instantly to help her. "I didn't mean to scare you; I like watching you cook."

"I didn't hear you at all... Um, did I wake you up?" She set the plate on the table and turned back to make more.

"I don't think so." He sat down in his spot at the table. "These look and smell delicious." He sniffed the pancakes, and a sweet vanilla scent took over.

"Hopefully, they taste as good as they smell then." She laughed.

Ah, why do I still feel so awkward? We didn't even do anything last night... and we've done much more before... Maybe I'm feeling guilty? Guilty for giving him the cold shoulder? Guilty for being resistant to trying? He wants to try, which I assume means he's not afraid of getting hurt, right? Can't say the same for me though, despite being the one who hurts others in the first place.

"Ella?" Leon called out to her again from right behind her. "I'm no expert, but pancakes burn fast, right?"

"What? Oh!" She flipped over her pancakes in the pan. They were a bit dark, but not burnt yet. "Thanks..."

"Lost in thought, again? I hope you weren't thinking anything bad."

"Just... contemplative..." She sat in her seat with her own plate of pancakes, though a bit overdone.

"I've been thinking as well."

She froze, with her fork stabbed into her pancakes, bracing herself.

"I want to meet your mother. You've met my parents, so I think it's time I meet your mom."

"She lives outside the city, so it's a bit of a drive to get there..."

Leon let out the breath he was holding in, glad she didn't say she didn't want him to meet her. "That's fine. I like driving and maybe we can even make a weekend stay of it or something. Even if she doesn't have space, we can get a room at the closest hotel. I'm sure she'd be happy to see you."

"Right... my mom..."

"What's wrong?"

"It's just been a while since I went back home, that's all."

"Why? Did you two fight or something?"

"You could say that."

"About what?"

"About her staying single the whole time after my father left. She said it was for me, but I gave her my blessing, so I told her it was just her fear. She got upset, then I got upset... and we kinda stopped talking. I mean, we still see each other for birthdays and Christmas, but... we haven't talked much despite how close we've always been. I'm not sure what she'll think about being engaged to you after the previous ones... not that she knew about Nathan proposing."

"I see... but she'll know eventually either way, right?"

"I guess you're right."

"Time to reconcile?"

"I suppose so. I'll call her later about it."

"Okay, thank you. I'm looking forward to meeting her."

"Really? I was terrified of meeting your parents."

"Of course, because she's the reason I got to meet you."

"Ha... Do you really mean all this stuff you say?" Ella asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're always so sweet and whatnot that it feels... unreal. I mean, it's not like I haven't had people be sweet to me, but you seem like you're like that all the time. Is this just the 'honeymoon' phase or something?"

"Um... That's just me." Leon shrugged. "Or at least me when I'm with you. I can't seem to help it; I always want to be sweet to you... Well, maybe not quite always." He smirked. "If you catch my drift."

"What are you... Oh..." Ella blushed and stuffed her face full of pancakes.

Leon couldn't help but laugh, since she looked like a chipmunk with her cheeks full.

When she finally swallowed, she summoned up some courage to ask more questions. "How did you manage to keep hoping to meet me again?"

"It wasn't hard for me, because I believed it would happen one day. I just knew it. Like it felt... fated to come to be. Either that, or I wished so hard it'd be cruel for you not to show up again."

"It was barely in time though, wasn't it?"

He shrugged, thinking about it. "More than a year left until they'd force someone on me... or maybe I would've broken the company and kept waiting. Hard to say, but I'd rather not go into those what-ifs. You're here now, even if it took longer than I would've liked... And it's time for work." He glanced at his watch. "How are you feeling, by the way? No hangover?"

"Hangover?"

"From drinking too much last night?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Nope!" Crap, I forgot about that... I didn't drink nearly enough for that, anyway.

"Good... Now, the first thing for your work today is to call your mom and make sure we can get some time soon to meet her. As early as Friday, if we can."

"That's part of my job?"

"I'm not going to ask Zeke to call your mother, so yes."

"On that note, do you really need a personal concierge when you have a personal assistant?"

"He deals more with the business stuff; you deal with my personal life."

"But then I have to double-check things with him... Wouldn't it be easier if he had control of both?"

"Are you trying to get out of being my personal concierge?"

"Well..."

"I figured it's a good job for you, since sometimes we'll get to spend more time together. Besides, it pays more than being a regular concierge." Not that she really needed the money with him around.

"You haven't used me too much, though. You haven't visited any of the facilities on-site or—"

"You make a good point. I should spend a day testing out the rest of the place." Leon hummed as he thought. "I know I said for us to visit your mom, but is there a chance she'd like to come here? There's quite a bit to enjoy; it might be a nice little vacation for her."

"I guess she might."

"Good, get on that." He pulled on his jacket and headed for the front door, then stopped. "You can keep doing the odd jobs I give you and either stop for the day or help out otherwise, like normal, or you can join me anytime. I know Zeke might complain, but you're free to stay beside me and learn the business if you want."

I don't think I'd be any good with that...

"I'll stick with this."

"Okay then. The option stays open for you. One more thing."

"What?" Ella had cleared the table and was about to do the dishes when she looked back at him. "Oh!" Her eyes widened as he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Have a good morning. I'll talk to you soon. I'm off." He gave her a quick wave and left, smiling because he loved her surprised expression.

Feels like he's getting bolder, but I guess that isn't a bad thing. She lightly touched her lips, smiling.

After doing her normal cleanup around the suite, Ella sat down at the kitchen table with her phone, staring at her mother's phone number.

I don't think there's any way of getting out of this. It's just mom; suck it up and call her, Ella.

She dialled the number and waited through a few rings, tempted to hang up the whole time.

"Hello," her mom answered. "Ella?"

"Um..."

"Is something wrong? Are you okay? Did something—"

"I'm okay," Ella said, cutting off her mom's worried ramblings. "Um... I don't even know how to ask this..."

"You can ask me anything, honey; you should know that."

"But we haven't talked all that much in a while."

"I'm your mother; I'll always listen to what you have to say."

"Well, actually..." Ella fiddled with the pen sitting on the table. "I got a promotion and I'm working at a new hotel."

"That's great!"

"And..." Ella wiped the sweat off her forehead. "I'm engaged."

Her mother was silent for a moment. "Again?"

"Y-yup."

"Honey... do you think this is a good idea? With what's happened before, you might be better off—"

"Mom! I'm already engaged, and I will marry him, but he wants to meet you first." Surprising how easily that came out.

"I see... I understand, but I still think—"

"He wants to invite you here to the hotel to enjoy a short vacation. All expenses paid."

"He works at your hotel?"

"He owns the hotel."

"Oh..."

Ella gritted her teeth, the silence deafening. "Look, I know we disagree on a lot of things, but... it'd mean so much to me if you'd come to meet your future son-in-law."

"I..." She sighed. "Okay, I'd love to come to meet him."

"Thank you. Now, can you come for the weekend coming up?"

"I have no plans, so it should be fine."

"Only pack what you need, and we can get you anything else right here. This place is great that way, along with all the stores right nearby."

"You're not wasting money, are you?"

"No, of course not." Leon may spend however he like,s though... and to him, it probably isn't a waste.

"If you say so... Okay, I'll be ready for this weekend."

"Alright then; I'll see you soon."

"Wait, don't hang up yet! Are... are you doing okay? Eating properly?"

"I'm fine, mom. How about you?"

"I'm fine; the same as always."

I wish I knew how to talk to her...

"That's good..." Ella sighed.

"I miss you."

"I miss you too, mom. I guess it's a good thing Leon wanted to invite you over."

"You can invite me over anytime, you know? You can also come home anytime you want. You don't need an invitation; just show up."

"I'll... keep that in mind. I have to go now; more work to do. I'll see you soon. Love you, mom."

"I love you too, sweetie. Take care."

"You too." Ella hung up first and melted back into her chair, all the tension releasing. Ugh... this shouldn't have been hard... Ella looked at the time. It was almost lunch, and Leon had put it on the schedule that he'd be home for lunch, so she started working on it.